On January 21, 2025, Weil secured a significant and favorable settlement in a pro bono civil rights litigation brought on behalf of The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education.  The complaint against Harvard University alleged that Jewish and Israeli students were subject to direct discrimination, hostile educational environment, and retaliation in violation of Title VI of The Civil Rights Act of 1964.

As part of the settlement agreement, which has received considerable coverage in national press, Harvard agreed to implement numerous measures aimed at combating anti-Semitism on campus and creating a welcoming environment for Jewish students to learn and thrive in an environment free from hate, discrimination, and harassment. These measures include:

• Harvard will apply the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (“IHRA”) definition of anti-Semitism when evaluating complaints of anti-Semitic or anti-Israel discrimination.
• Harvard will publicly explain that both Jewish and Israeli identity are covered and protected by its anti-discrimination policies. Harvard will also issue a statement clarifying that Zionism is a part of Jewish identity for many Jewish people and that anti-Zionist conduct can violate Harvard’s policies. Examples of such conduct include excluding Zionists from an open event, calling for the death of Zionists, applying a ‘no Zionist’ litmus test for participation in any activities, or using tropes, stereotypes, and conspiracies about Zionists.
• Harvard will hire a designated individual to oversee all complaints of anti-Semitism.
• Harvard will ensure that the same standard that is applied to other complaints of discrimination is applied to complaints of anti-Semitism. To that end, Harvard will publish an annual report that assesses how Harvard treated complaints of anti-Semitism compared to its treatment of complaints based on other forms of bias.
• Harvard will establish an official partnership with a university in Israel.
• Harvard will allow the Brandeis Center to host a variety of events on campus.

The Weil team included Litigation Department Co-Chair Jonathan Polkes, Complex Commercial Litigation partner Jared Friedmann, and associates Shai Berman, Milana Bretgoltz, Alli Katzen, Daniel Lifton, and Nina Beth Shapiro.